Why Rui Patrício should be your Fantasy Football goalkeeper

Fantasy football may be a minefield of player statistics and pound signs, but worry no longer, the GQ Director Of Fantasy Football is here every week to give you the lowdown on the must-have player to improve your (undoubtedly hilariously named) team. It may be FA Cup third round week, but that's no excuse to cast your mind away from the Premier League...

Rui Patrício is one of the most experienced goalkeepers in English football having recently joined Premier League newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers for £16 million. Since the beginning of the season, the Portuguese stalwart has been pivotal in Wolves’ steady climb up the table, ranking in the top ten for both the number of saves made (61) and clean sheets kept (5) in the league.

A European Championship winner – and part of a Wolves side that somewhat resembles the Portuguese national team – Patrício has proved himself a consistent performer since swapping Sporting Lisbon for the West Midlands, keeping clean sheets against teams in the lower half of the table and securing points through saves made when playing those at the top.

Rui Patrício: four key stats

1

He has played every minute of every game this season – 1,890 to be exact.

2

His five clean sheets have all come against teams currently below Wolves in the table (Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Burnley and West Ham).

3

He recorded five saves in each of Wolves’ first matches against the following “top” sides (Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City).

4

He wears the number eleven shirt, choosing to keep the traditional number one vacant in honour of former Wolves keeper Carl Ikeme, who retired this summer after being diagnosed with acute leukaemia.

What his teammates and pundits say...

“He’s a very mature player... A lot of experience... He's doing a job and doing it well.” Nuno Espírito Santo, Wolverhampton Wanderers manager.

“Rui breeds confidence, he really does. To have someone like him in the changing room is huge for everyone.” Conor Coady, Wolverhampton Wanderers captain. (Shropshire Star)

“I would argue he [Rui Patrício] is a better goalkeeper than Kepa Arrizabalaga, who cost Chelsea a world-record £71.6m.” Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, back in August. (Daily Mail).

Why he’s worth it

While it might seem like a no-brainer to have Liverpool’s Alisson between the sticks, if you are struggling to afford his hefty price tag or already have three of Jürgen Klopp’s men in your team (which we would recommended unequivocally), then Patrício should be your go-to. At only £4.5m, he is just five points shy of Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris’ points total, who is valued at almost £1m more. And with the likes of Man City’s Ederson not keeping a clean sheet for the previous eight straight games, it may be time to make a change and free up some funds in the process.

One Wolves fan this writer spoke to has (rather optimistically) predicted that his club will be playing Champions League football within the next five years. If that is to become a reality, then Wolves are going to have to sign a few more players with Patrício’s pedigree and quality.